ford, gm and chrysler all sold more cars and trucks. chrysler had its best january in 5 years, with a 16% jump. ford's sales rose 22% from last year, its best january since '06, and gm's sales topped 16%. its estmated that total auto sales hit 15.5 million last month. foreign brands helped that number. sales at toyota jumped a whopping 27% in january. and volkswagen celebrated its best january since 1974 - a 6.7% increase. demand for the accord helped the numbers at honda. demand for the model pushed sales up 12.7% consumer reports is out with its list of best car brands. toyota, ford, honda and chevrolet rank as the top brands with best consumer perception. motorists judged the automakers based on safety, value, performance, design, technology and environmental friendliness. it was a major plus for toyota to top the list, considering its recall issues past and present. fourth-quarter earnings wrapped up with a mixed bag of results for mattel, exxon, and tyson. mattel's profits dropped 17%, hit by a litigation charge earlier in the year